Kindergarten XMen
by Summers Groupie
Summary: What if... the XMen, Brotherhood and Acolytes all went to Xaviers for kindergarten? Ensuing madness, be warned... Spiderman included in this fic. Everything explained inside...
1. Meet the BoM Brats

Disclaimer: I own nothing, none of the characters, places, or names. Just the situations.

A/N: Kindergarten situation for the X-Men, based on Evolution and a few friends of mine's ideas. Spiderman included in this fic (He does fit… It is proved in the comics…) If some of the pairings are weird, blame Mrs Jean Grey Summers board (though it rocks beyond belief). Oh and I'm gonna say they know Logan's proper name, as it seems weird not to if I do know… Just an opinion and just this fic…

* * *

An empty classroom. A smiling young woman and a gruff, scowling man looking around it. The woman clasped her hands together and pulled at the man's arm. "Oh stop scowling Logan, it is perfect for the students."

"Hmph." Logan retorted, not even giving her the grace of a proper answer.

"Now now Logan, you returned of your own free will." Professor Charles Xavier wheeled into the room, positively beaming.

He owned the mansion and its grounds, but never tried to harness the will of the people in them. Thankfully, two old friends and once students, Ororo Monroe and James 'Logan' Howlett had consented to working along side him as he built a home for mutant children everywhere, a safe haven and a training centre. He had his reasons, he wanted to protect the humans, but that was a minor concern compared to helping the children to control their powers and be able to live in a world that hated and despised anyone or thing different.

"Yer right Chuck, but I don't have t' like this idea o' yours. Takin' kids in here and teachin' 'em? It'll be suicide; kids are more trouble than you'd think."

Ororo chuckled beside him, earning a glare. She patted his arm gently. "It's okay Logan, I won't let the six year olds hurt you, a grown man with a mutant healing factor."

In response to this, Logan made a mocking 'ha ha' noise before slumping back to lean against the newly painted cream walls. The room itself was decorated well, though plain colours had been used. Cream for the walls, white for the ceiling, deep red for the floor (to hide irremovable stains) and white for the window sills and door frame. There were however pictures up, some cartoons, some serious pieces, though they all added to the atmosphere of a child's area, be it one of playing or one of learning.

"Charles, I think it has begun." Another voice came from the foyer, and Charles smiled in greeting.

"I'm glad you have joined us Erik."

"Why would I not Charles? I have my own children to bring here, and no matter what you may say, or your 'Wolverine' may say, I do want them to be safe."

Erik Lensherr shook Charles' hand firmly and kissed Ororo's, just nodding to Logan. He knew that Logan didn't think too highly of him, especially as his and Charles' opinions on mutants and humans differed. However he had two children by his side, one holding each hand and staring around the mansion as if it were Disney world.

"Daddy! It's sooooo big…" The curly brown haired girl told Erik, tugging on his hand.

"Leggo! I wanna play!" The other, a silver haired boy yelled, trying to tug his hand out of his fathers.

Erik scowled at the boy and smiled at his daughter. "Pietro! Wait! And yes Wanda, It is, isn't it? This is daddy's friend Charles Xavier, say hello darling."

Pietro grinned and spat on his other hand sticking it out to Ororo rather than Charles. "Hello darling!"

Wanda blushed and grinned at her twin's antics, hiding behind Erik as the three strangers laughed. Letting go of her daddy's hand, she stepped forward and smiled up at Charles. "Hello. I'm Wanda."

"Hello Wanda. It's lovely to meet you." Charles beamed down at her and turned his wheelchair so she could see the room that had been prepared. "Would you like to stay and play in my kindergarten?"

Nodding eagerly, Wanda looked back up at Erik who nodded, before venturing into the room and looking around in quiet awe. Pietro grew impatient as his father wouldn't 'leggo', as he put it. He began to make a high pitched whining noise that he knew would annoy Erik. After a brief moment, Erik let go and turned back to leave.

"YIPPEE!" Pietro yelled and tore off into the room to bug his sister, using his superspeed.

Charles laughed quietly and turned around to speak to Erik. Ororo resignedly sat down in one of the chairs and watched the twins, Logan stood by the door, leaning against the wall and asking himself why he'd come back for this.

"Erik? Aren't you going to stay?"

"No." Erik stopped at the front door and opened it slowly. "I have people to see Charles, and my children are not safe if they are with me. Here you will protect them, I trust you old friend."

Softening at these words, Charles still wheeled forward. "But still, I could use help, if you were to offer it?"

"No Charles. I am sorry, but we cannot see eye to eye on a few matters. My colleague Mystique will be bringing her child here. Be kind to her, she is doing the best for her. Now I take my leave."

"Goodbye Erik." Charles said sadly as his friend left, knowing the next time they met it would not be in true friendship. Logan made a small noise behind him and Professor Xavier twisted his head to smile. "It was going to happen Logan, at least his children are safe. I intend to keep them that way for as long as I possibly can."

Logan nodded and turned back to watch the twin's antics, smothering a laugh as Wanda blasted Pietro back after he had pulled her hair.

"Pie-pie! Do not touch my hair!"

"But Wa-wa! Barney told me to!"

Wanda stuck her tongue out at him and picked up two blocks, slamming them together hard, startling her brother enough to make him go across to a toy train and play with it sulking. Ororo smiled and went across to the girl, who was now building a tower of blocks carefully.

"Hello Wanda, may I join you?" Wanda looked up and smiled at Ororo.

"Yes please. You're be'utiful. How does you get your hair that way?"

Ororo touched her white locks and smiled, kneeling by Wanda and her tower. "I was born with it that way, and thank you. I think you are beautiful too, matching brown hair and eyes. It's very very very lovely."

Grinning even more, Wanda turned to say something and accidentally knocked her blocks over. Her lower lip trembling, she stared at the fallen blocks in horror. Ororo sensed there was more to Wanda's sudden mood change than just the blocks being knocked over. She hugged the little girl and spoke quietly to her.

"What's wrong dear? You can tell me, I'm not horrid, and I won't tell anyone unless you want me to."

Wanda sniffed into Ororo's arms, closing her own smaller arms around her in a hug. "My mommy had hair and eyeses like mine… But she's in heaven now, and I don't get to see her ever."

Ororo hugged Wanda tighter and spoke in a softer voice. "My mother is also in heaven child, and I don't see her either, or my father. And my sister and I don't get along very well, so I remain here. You are a very lucky girl to look like your mother, she must've been very beautiful, just like you."

Startled by Ororo's confession, Wanda stepped back and dried her eyes with her sleeve. A small twinkle came back to her eyes and she tried to smile again. The older girl smiled encouragingly. "There she is, now that smile makes you twice as beautiful again!"

Giggling and blushing slightly, Wanda jumped as the front door slammed, clinging to Ororo tightly as if she could protect her. Ororo put a hand soothingly on top of Wanda's head and stood up, so Wanda was now holding onto one of Ororo's trouser legs with both hands.

A blonde woman walked into the mansion, holding her little girl firmly by a gloved hand. She threw a look around the place and sighed, her face shifting until it was a blue colour with yellow eyes and red hair. The girl scowled up at her.

"Anna, don't." The woman said sternly as Logan stepped forward. "Ah, I presume one of Charles' workers?"

"And if I'm not?" Logan answered threateningly, not drawing his claws because of the little ones. "Mystique ya droppin' the kid or not?"

"I am, it's just…" Her eyes filled with tears and she picked Anna up to hug her tightly. Putting her back on her feet, Mystique knelt down and took both of her hands in hers. "Anna, I want you to be good, as good as you are for me."

Anna nodded boredly and looked away whilst Mystique straightened and kiss her fingertips before pressing them onto the top of Anna's head. "Run along and play."

Following her mother's instructions, Anna walked into the kindergarten and scowled at Pietro before he even opened his mouth, scaring him slightly. Wanda held onto Ororo still, though she grinned at Pie-pie's scared expression, immeadiately warming to the strange new girl.

"Logan, be good to her, and no skin contact. It's her power, it leeches, drains, whatever… Don't tell her about me, not one word." Mystique's eyes brimmed with tears again as she looked at Logan harshly. "If any of you harms her-"

"We won' Raven, I give ya my word on it, let alone Chuck's." Logan said calmly, a little worried by the usually detached Mystique's lack of control. She forcibly smiled and shape-shifted again this time into Erik. She nodded to Logan and took one last look at her little Anna before storming out of the door.

Logan shook his head and looked back at the angry little girl, scratching the back of his head and wondering what to do with her. Giving up the train of thought for now he went looking for Charles, thinking that he should know Anna's powers.

Slowly, Wanda let go and went over to the girl who was now staring at the wall as if it was pure evil. She sat down next to her and folded her hands in front of her, humming a little, before breaking the silence.

"I'm Wanda."

The girl looked at her as if she wasn't impressed and went back to staring at the wall. Wanda felt a little angry, but tried again a moment later. "Do you have a name too?"

Narrowing her eyes, as if daring Wanda to disturb her staring again, the girl opened her mouth then snapped it shut. She looked at the wall sideways then muttered a reply, going back to glaring.

"Rogue."

"Right." Wanda bit her lip and stood up again. "I'll just go and play then. You can come. If you want."

Without waiting, she flounced off back to Ororo, who patiently stood waiting, a little worried by the girls behaviour and wondering where Logan could've got to. She never-the-less knelt down again and helped Wanda rebuild her tower.

Pietro grinned at Wanda's failed attempt and decided to try himself. He picked up his train and took it across, slamming it down next to the girl. He smiled smugly when she jumped and looked at him. "Wanna play?"

"No, ah don't." The girl answered glaring now at him, speaking with a thick Mississippi accent. Pietro tried again, happy he'd got more words said to him than his sister had.

"Why not? Trains is fun. You can make them crash!"

Rogue/Anna smiled suddenly, amused by the boy's notion. "Ah'm Rogue. An' ah don't wanna play rahgt now. Can ah play later?"

Pietro grinned widely, nodding, before beginning to talk and boast. "Even though you're a girl, I'll let you. I'll save you the second best train case you come 'cross to me. I'm Pietro. I can ran faster than anyone."

After dropping her smile, Rogue nodded and put her head on her arms, now just staring at the wall, rather than glaring. Pietro, satisfied, went back across to the toys and began to make huge noises as he made the cars 'explode' and crash. He was so immersed in his game, he didn't hear the new arrivals.

Three harassed looking six-year olds stood together in the hall. They all looked bored and annoyed. Staring round though, two had the courtesy to look amazed at the mansion. The one who didn't was scowling at the floor and wondering when they'd kick them out of here.

"Psst, Lance? What's up man?" Fred Dukes nudged him slightly and looked up at the girl approaching them.

"Hi, are these the guys for the Xavier Kindergarten? I'm one of the supervisors, Ororo Monroe." She shook the hand of the stern woman standing next to the three.

"Fred Dukes. Lance Alvers. Todd Tolensky. They are trouble makers, be alert Miss Monroe, especially Lance, he appears to be the ring leader."

Lance scowled at the woman in disgust and sent a look at Ororo that plainly said 'I dare you to try and stop me'. Ororo smiled faintly and nodded. The woman turned and left quickly, thankful that they were finally off her hands. She prayed that the three wouldn't be returning to them any time soon, then possibly the other kids would get fostered or adopted.

"Hey boys. You wanna go in there and play?" Ororo asked them, bending down to look each one in the eye.

Todd nodded and froze seeing Wanda inside the room. Fred snickered as he saw what Todd was looking at, Lance quickly caught on and smiled.

"I'm in love, yo…" Todd told his friends, not taking his eyes off Wanda. "She has hair like chocolate man."

Lance rolled his eyes and looked at Ororo. "So what if we do? You gonna tell us not to?"

Shaking her head, Ororo smiled at the stubborn boy. "No, I'll agree with you and say 'Go right ahead'."

All three pairs of eyes widened and fixed on her in surprise. Todd grinned and yelled his thanks, bouncing off to introduce himself to the chocolate haired girl. Lance folded his arms and stormed past her, heading for the window to look out of. Fred looked at Ororo and laughed.

"Gee, thanks lady!"

He hitched up his trouser legs and ran toward the doors to try and hang out with the other guys in there. Ororo was about to follow them back in when she heard another knock on the door. Standing outside were two angry kids and two angry parents. Both father's dragged their respective child in and stood holding them back from each other.

"Watch it mate, my son has a fiery temper!" One man warned with an Australian accent, holding back his blonde haired son who held a box of matches in one hand trying to get at the smug looking brown haired boy opposite him.

"I t'ink dat if your boy tries t' hurt my son den he be in big trouble." The other man spoke calmly, letting go of his son. "Remy, keep away from dat dere flameball."

Remy grinned mockingly and nodded. "No problem pa, he don't scare Remy anyway."

Ororo stepped between them and a wind rose suddenly around them, her eyes turned white and she shot an angry look at the parents. "ENOUGH!"

All four looked startled and stopped talking, each taking a step away from the woman. The other kids in the room all stared openly at Ororo, wondering how she did that. Calming down, Ororo dropped the wind and straightened herself out.

"Right. I am Ororo Monroe, one of the supervisors. As you have just seen, I am sure I can handle your sons. Now would you care to tell me who each of you are?"

The father and son that were so obviously from New Orleans stepped forwards. "I be Jean-Paul LeBeau. Dis is my here son, Remy LeBeau. He's s'pposed to be joinin' t'day?"

"Yes, okay, hello Remy. Now you sir?"

The other pair looked daggers at the LeBeau's before the son spoke. "I'm John, St John Allerdyce. Or Pyro. This is me dad, that's all you need t' know lady."

His father nodded in agreement and patted John's shoulder. "Right, I'll be off John, remember to thank Mister Xavier f'r havin' you 'ere. I'll come pick you up when I can."

John nodded and ignored the others, walking into the room full of curious kids, who hurriedly went back to their tasks. Jean-Paul looked to Ororo, then back at Remy. "Be good, you know de others aint to pleased at you right now, so I be back when it's safe for you again."

" 'Bye." Remy said quietly and wandered across to the room, heading for Rogue, wondering why she'd be staring at the wall.

Ororo watched the two parents leave and sighed, leaning against the door, tired already. She blew air from her lips so her fringe flipped up and walked back across to the children, knowing there would be more soon.

Logan came back moments later and watched Ororo trying to sort out the fighting Todd and Wanda. He grinned, then went in to try and help her. Charles stopped outside the room and looked in to see how things were going. Already there were so many, it was a good thing, yet he had a sneaking suspicion he was going to need more help.

* * *

By the way – Wanda obviously doesn't hate her father yet, as she's only six.

- Todd's feelings are funny, so I thought they'd be in early.

- Rogue's smile was that someone wasn't avoiding her, or treating her differently.

- Some characters may seem OOC, but remember they're six…

Anything else? Wanna tell me off? Wanna tell me I'm okay? Review and I shall know!

Next time:

Please Review!

Summers Groupie

-x-x-


	2. Meet some XBrats

Disclaimer: I own nothing, none of the characters, places, or names. Just the situations.

A/N: Kindergarten situation for the X-Men, based on Evolution and a few friends of mine's ideas. Spiderman included in this fic (He does fit… It is proved in the comics…) If some of the pairings are weird, blame Mrs Jean Grey Summers board (though it rocks beyond belief). Oh and I'm gonna say they know Logan's proper name, as it seems weird not to if I do know… Just an opinion and just this fic…

Big thank you to: jacx, jenskott, Zoe March (), Agent-G (I thought Pietro had blue like Erik, but Wanda was like her mom?) , amazing redd phoenix, Nettlez, The Komodo Dragon Phoenix, Cloeymarie. YOU GUYS ROCCCCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKK!

BTW! Me and Mimato-4eva are doing a joint fic! It's under the name Pryde's-Pride - called Love is a Complicated Thing.

Last time:

"Hello Wanda. It's lovely to meet you." Charles beamed down at her and turned his wheelchair so she could see the room that had been prepared. "Would you like to stay and play in my kindergarten?"

"Erik? Aren't you going to stay?"…"No."

"Ah'm Rogue…"

"Fred Dukes. Lance Alvers. Todd Tolensky. They are trouble makers, be alert Miss Monroe, especially Lance, he appears to be the ring leader."

"Remy, keep away from dat dere flameball."… "I'm John... Or Pyro."

…

Already there were so many, it was a good thing, yet Charles had a sneaking suspicion he was going to need more help…

On with the next part! Meet the X-Men brats - I mean, kids!

* * *

A perky little red head rang the bell and knocked at the door, half hyper from the idea of staying away from home for more than a few hours. She ran around her fathers legs, causing him to smile, whilst her mother pursed her lips and looked away. Her sister mimicked her mother, trying to be as like her as possible. 

A girl in her late teens answered the door and smiled at the Grey family. "Hello, would you care to come in?"

As John Grey opened his mouth to say yes, his wife interrupted. "No, we shall not, we have things to do."

John shrugged and picked his youngest daughter up to kiss her cheek lovingly. He hugged her tightly and smiled. "Be good my little Jean."

"Yes daddy." Jean smiled and kissed her daddy on the nose, before he put her down and looked at the exotic looking young woman.

"Take care of my baby Miss. I'll call her in the morning."

"Yes, of course Mr Grey." Ororo nodded and saw him hand Jean a small case, obviously with her special things in, that they hadn't sent ahead. "Hi there Jean, I'm Ororo. It's great to meet you finally."

"Yeah." Jean said distractedly waving to her family as they got into their car and drove away. She turned back to Ororo and smiled mischievously. "Do you have a play room? Did you get Mister Fuzzles?"

Laughing, Ororo nodded and held out a hand, which Jean took immediately. Walking indoors, Logan met them and Jean pounced on him, forcing him to show her the room she was staying in instead of Ororo. Shaking her head at the new students confidence, Ororo headed back to the kitchen to finish making lunch for the others. Lance stood in his doorway frowning.

"There's a new girl."

"New? What like?"

"But noooooooo-one can replace Wonderful Wanda!"

"Shut up Todd…" Fred knocked him off the bed and grinned at a now smirking Lance. "So?"

"Nothin' nice." Lance put in and sat down on his own bed, next to Fred's. He pulled out his colouring book and began to colour the faces in black.

Fred rolled his eyes at his friend's behaviour and turned around to look at Todd who was still lying on his back, his eyes tightly closed and his hands pressed to his heart. Fred laughed and dropped onto him, causing Todd to grunt and kick him. Looking up at what was going on Lance grinned widely.

"Fight!" he leapt over Fred's bed and they all began to play fight on the floor, over the beds and generally all around the room.

Jean sat on her new bed, making Logan check everywhere for monsters. She hugged her latest teddy and smiled when Logan emerged from the closet.

"None in there now." He panted, after pretending to fight them off. Jean squealed with laughter and Logan grinned widely.

"Check under the bed! They always hide there!" Jean shouted and stood on the bed, bouncing up and down, enjoying the game.

"Right." Logan agreed and gave a growl before diving under the bed, causing another peal of laughter from Jean. He was that happy to hear her laugh, he tried to get up suddenly and banged his head hard on the bed. "OWWW! SH- SUGAR!"

Jean fell over laughing and crawled across her bed on her stomach until she could hang her head off the side and look underneath. "Sugar Logan? Not monsters?"

Her cheekiness made Logan smile again as he crawled backwards out from under the bed. He leant against the side and caught his breath, feeling his bump go away quickly. Jean sat up and leant on her elbows watching him quietly. She quickly moved and patted his head lightly. "Nice Logan, thank you. No monsters now. Run along Logan."

Eyes widening, Logan got up and obeyed the young girls orders. She was too darn cute and loveable for her own good. He sighed heavily. He was so whipped, and by a six-year-old. That was pathetic.

Logan? Come to my office. I have a task for you

Logan grunted in response knowing that the Professor could hear him. Strange hearing Chuck in his head still, no matter how long he'd been doing it. He swept along the corridor stealthily, listening for any upsets and growling when he heard the one in Lance, Todd and Fred's room. Why had Charles insist on them being together… his logic defied Logan and he gave up on thinking about it

"Ah, Logan. Good, I have already dealt with the three boys, as you can probably hear."

Logan grinned wolfishly and nodded. "Good on ya Chuck."

"Quite." Charles smiled abruptly, before changing the subject. "I have located a boy. I need you to go and fetch him. I will be backing you up, psychically."

Logan looked at Charles curiously. "Why do ya want me t' fetch him?"

"Because he is all alone, Logan, and Ororo has her hands quite full." Charles replied, irritated. "Please, the jet will take it's first recruitment flight in your hands."

Barely nodding, Logan made his way to the jet. A pick up. A recruitment. How sweet, he mocked in his own mind. Never-the-less he got on board and flew to the location of this boy, choosing to see what was so important about this boy that it couldn't wait.

Following mental instruction from Charles, Logan made his way down an alley to find a boy cowered at the end, a dirty piece of cloth wrapped around his head, covering his eyes. He stood up defiantly and Logan saw how thin he was. He moved with almost no noise, so as not to scare the boy too much

"Who's there?" The boy called loudly. "I can hear you, I know someone's there!"

Logan raised his eyebrows impressed. "A guy who wants t' help ya kid. There's a place, a school, f'r people like us."

"What? How do you know I'm like you! I don't believe you! Who are you?"

"My name's Logan, kid. You got a name?"

"Not for you." The boy answered smartly and stepped back, so he was pressed against the wall, away from the stranger. "Why would you help me? What would it cost? I haven't got anything to give you."

Listen to him. He's not like the others

A voice sounded in the boy's mind and he swung his head wildly, trying to find it's source. Logan knew what the Professor had done and tried to use it to his advantage.

"Listen, kid, I don't wanna hurt you, neither do I want anythin'. I just wanna help, I hate seein' kids hurt, it's a pet hate o' mine. So do this guy a favour, huh? Help me out, by lettin' me help you."

After a few tense moments, the boy became still and lowered his head to his chest. "Scott. Scott Summers."

Logan smiled uncertainly and reached out a hand slowly to lead Scott out towards the jet. Scott, however, had other ideas and promptly fainted, Logan supposed, from malnutrition or lack of sleep. He carried the light kid to the jet slowly, and felt a wave of pity wash over him.

'Poor kid… aint had much o' a life if this is it…'

He flew the jet home as smoothly as he could, communicating with Charles to set up a bed in the Medical Bay for the boy when they arrived. He was informed Hank McCoy was there and was ready to assist. Scott woke up during the flight though, for a brief moment and positively screamed when he realised he was in the air, causing him to be sick then fall asleep. He curled into a ball and made small, light snoring noises that only sensitive ears would hear, which made Logan grin, even though he'd have to clean the whole jet.

Jean stole down to the hangar as she heard Ororo say there was a boy coming in. She wondered if this boy would be fun, or if he'd be mean, or real nice, or even mega totally cool! She gasped in horror though when she saw the boy come off the jet in Logan's arms. He looked so… tiny and helpless. She ran forward and reached up to touch his cheek with one hand.

"He's so cold…" Jean said softly and breathed on her hand, before placing it again on his cheek.

A young Hank stared at the young lady before taking Scott from Logan and asking Jean if she would like to help check that the young man was alright. Getting Charles' consent, the three made their way to the medical bay, or med bay as Hank called it.

Jean stood by the bed side and looked anxiously at the boy who still had a rag wrapped around his eyes. She stretched up to look at him more closely and jumped as he stirred. He made a small moaning noise and tilted his face toward her.

"Who-? Where-where am I?"

Jean smiled uncertainly and smiled, stepping forward again to hang onto the end of the bed. "You're at Professor Xaviers. I'm Jean, Mister McCoy is gonna help you. Me too."

Scott turned his head away. "I don't need help."

"Yes you do." Jean insisted and folded her arms. "What's your name?"

Hank stood at the doorway and watched Jean talk to the boy. He smiled and was amused to see that the lad talked to Jean and gave her more information than Logan had got out of him. Possibly it was because of the feminine voice and approach.

"Scott…" The boy admitted to Jean and turned his face back. "Why are you here then?"

"I've got special powers." Jean giggled and smiled. "I can hear people's thoughts and move things. But the Professor says it's not to be ashamed of."

Barely noticing her words, Scott sat up. "Who else is here?"

Hank stepped forward, holding a glass of water and a few small vials. "Indeed, heightened senses, not your mutation I presume, but as a consequence. Most intriguing, I am Hank McCoy, a doctor, but not a bad one."

A grin appeared on his face, making Jean giggle. Hank smiled even more, before attending to Scott. "Now Mister Summers, would you kindly swallow these, I have some water for you, and I'm afraid you will have to have several vaccinations."

Scott paled and swung his legs off the bed. He tried to get down but found he couldn't. He heard a small noise come from somewhere to his left and he guessed it was Jean.

"Moving things." She muttered, concentrating. "And stoppin' them Scott."

Upstairs Logan and Charles were speaking quietly, making their way to the dining room, whilst the other kids sat down for lunch. Ororo brought it out cheerfully. "Here we go! It's just a basic meal I'm afraid."

She put some on each child's plate and looked around for Jean, smiling at Logan and the Professor as they entered. Shrugging, she put three helpings to one side and sat down herself. Wanda and Todd sat next to each other, much to Wanda's disgust, and Todd kept trying to slide onto her seat with her. She scowled at him and he backed off a little, before trying again moments later. Lance sat between the lovestruck Todd and Fred, looking at his dinner as if it was poison. Fred began eating as soon as he could and beamed at Ororo for handing it to him. Pietro sat opposite Wanda, shovelling food into his mouth quickly and drinking a lot of water. Rogue was seated next to him and on her other side sat Remy, who kept dropping hints that he could get her anything she asked for, causing Rogue to roll her eyes and frown, occasionally snapping at him to shut up. Logan sat between Remy and John so that they couldn't fight. An empty seat was between John and the head of the table, where the Professor sat. On his other side, Jean's seat was also empty, leaving Ororo to sit by Fred.

Pietro tried to distract Rogue from Remy by yelling at the top of his voice. "TRAINNNNNNNNNNNS!"

Everyone at the table froze, then they all started giggling, with the exception of Logan. The Professor smiled and rested his elbows on the table to look at Pietro over his fingertips. "Now now Pietro, calm down."

Pietro blushed and lowered his face until it almost touched the plate. Rogue almost smiled, but thought better of it and frowned again. Remy nudged her and began whispering.

"You like trains chere?" He said, mimicking what he had heard his father say to his mother. "I get you one if you want?"

Rogue scowled at him, and concentrated on her food again. Remy happily continued eating, as this time she at least hadn't bitten his head off with a comment. Then again, it was easy to please him, seeing as he was so young.

Charles suddenly looked out of the room and towards the front door, a moment later there was a knock followed by a child's giggle. Logan looked up at Charles for instruction, but Charles merely smiled and looked around at his young students.

"Any volunteers to answer the door for me?" He asked, as a lot of the children averted their gaze. Lance wasn't fast enough as he wasn't listening, so he stuck his head up to see what was going on,

"Ah, Lance, thank you – the door then?"

Lance slipped from his chair, as Ororo rose to go with him. Lance then insisted on swinging from the door handle as he opened it. Ororo laughed and greeted the parents, discovering they wished to speak to Charles personally, who at that precise second rolled out to greet them. Lance stopped dead, when two blue eyes caught his from behind the new students mother's back. The eyes seemed to laugh, yet be curious.

"Lance?" Ororo interjected, "This is Katherine Pry-"

"Kitty!" The girl corrected. "Kitty is what I like being calleded…"

Ororo nodded and began again, smiling at the girls obvious confidence about herself; then again, she told herself, at six, most kids were. "Alright, Lance, this is Kitty Pryde. Kitty, this is Lance Alvers, our resident clown."

Kitty giggled as Lance shot Ororo an evil look. He stepped closer to her and a grin too similar to the one on Todds' face appeared. "Hey Pretty Kitty."

"'Ello Lancey. You're a clown? Show me a joke?" Kitty grinned, her cheeks only flushing for a split second.

"Uhh…" Lance pointed at Ororo, which made Kitty laugh.

"Think I likes you Lancy Kancy!"

"Like you too Pretty Kitty!"

Ororo led the two back into the dining room, as the Professor finished up with Miss Pryde's parents. He smiled at the now excited pupils in his kindergarten. Then he turned away, heading down to Hank, after receiving a mental call from Jean. Impressed at her control, though he had made it easier by establishing a small breakable link with her, Charles headed down to the three in the Med Bay.

Down there, Jean had been told to sit outside as Hank did a physical check-up on Scott. She swung her legs back and forth as she sat on the edge of her chair, jumping up when she saw Charles approaching. A brief smile, then Charles wheeled into Hank and Scott, where he saw Hank frantically scribbling.

Jean smiled as she saw Hank had replaced the rag over Scott's eyes with a clean white bandage. She et her eyes fall back down toward the floor, but his naked torso caught her by surprise. Bruised and pale, he really was skinny, there were also marks of wounds not healed properly, as well as a thin scar above his left hip. Her eyes filled with tears, though she didn't really understand why, and she ran across to Scott and hugged him as he scrambled down from the bed Hank had rested him on.

Scott's world turned upside down as he felt two arms close around him, and he wasn't sure how to respond. When she didn't let go, he felt awkward and lost for something to do, part of him wanted to push her off and scream, whilst another part wanted to react and make her smile and hold on forever.

"That will be enough Jean." The same voice as was in his head sounded from just a few steps in front of the two. Jean reluctantly let go and stepped away from Scott.

"Hello Mister Summers, I am Professor Charles Xavier, I believe Logan told you about my school."

Scott nodded nervously and folded his arms across his chest. He shivered involuntary, and spoke quietly. "He… he said you could help… And, and that…"

"Yes, it's quite alright. Jean, would you kindly go up to Ororo and tell her I shall be late for our meeting?" Jean nodded, vowing to come back down, though Charles had told Ororo telepathically to keep Jean away for now.

"Now then Scott, all that Logan said was true. I would dearly like to help you, and allow you to… see again?" Scott's breath caught in his throat as he was told that. Charles felt the surface of his mind buzzing with activity and smiled to himself. Hank passed him the clipboard he had been writing on.

Good Lord Hank! This is what you have discovered?

Yes, I'm afraid so Charles, Scott has survived more than any other six year old I've seen. I did a quick background check, as he told Jean and I where he was from. Anchorage. One family of Summers, there was a family, Major Christopher, Katherine-Ann, Scott and Alex Summers

Charles brow creased with worry. The child had only been on his own for a short time… how was it possible…

"Sir? I- I wanna see again. But I'm goin' away if you try and do anything to me! I'll run, I swear!"

Detecting a note of panic in Scott's voice, Professor Xavier snapped to the present and the matter at hand. He passed the notes back to Hank. "Right then, we shall have to do a test then, but not today. Now you can go and rest, have something to eat, then you will be taken to a room I have had prepared since your arrival. You are free to wander, but do be careful Scott, I don't want you to be hurt."

Scott nodded and shivered again. Hank quickly passed him a jumper and some pants and underwear. "Here Scott, let me help you for now, until you become accustomed."

The young boy froze totally as Hank dressed him, Charles felt shocks rising to the surface of his mind and would've probed, except the natural shielding the boy seemed to have was quite high. Hank took Scott gently by the hand and led him over to Charles. Scott's fingers held tightly to the arm of the wheelchair as he was taken upstairs to face the others.

Luckily they were all in the play room again, so Scott could eat in peace. Ororo was occupied with the other kids and couldn't come to meet Scott, but Charles stayed with him, and Scott was grateful, though he would never tell the Professor that, ever, he'd prove it instead.

Todd and Wanda were falling out again in the play room, as Wanda sent a hex at him. "LAY OFF ME TOAD!"

"It's Todd, Wanda-kins, and I know you love me really!"

"NO I DON'T I HATE YOUUUUUUU!" Wanda screamed and burst into tears, causing Ororo to rush over to her. Wanda carried on sobbing through Ororo's arms, throwing Todd a nasty grin, to show him she was faking to get him in trouble.

"Todd, leave Wanda alone now. Go play with someone else okay?"

Todd hung his head and nodded, moping off to try and play with Pietro or Fred. Lance and Kitty were busy drawing in the corner happily, already they had fallen out three times. Everyone now knew that when they were friends it was great, and when they fought it was hell. At the moment they were smiling and sharing, friends rather than worst enemies. Rogue was playing with blocks, throwing the occasional one at Remy, who was trying to join her. After a while, he decided to give up for now and come back later, so he went to help Pietro build a train track and explosives. Fred was playing with play dough, making it into food shapes, then trying to eat it, then being told off by Logan; the process was never ending… John was also drawing, but away from the other two. He drew flames and destruction, laughing madly as he drew a person dying in the fire. Jean sat amidst some blocks and was trying to make them line up using her powers. It was a fun game for one! She was enjoying it anyway, but she wondered what had happened to Scott.

The day wore on and the children got sleepier and sleepier, more and more arguments starting over smaller and smaller things. Charles came in at eight o'clock and everything stopped as they all wondered what would happen now. He smiled around at them all, then looked at his watch.

"I believe it is time for milk then bed, don't you agree Ororo, Logan, Hank?"

Hank, who had joined them after a lot of testing in the labs nodded tiredly as did Ororo and Logan after a second's pause. The kids were too tired to protest, especially Pietro, who had been running around the playroom for the last hour using his super speed. Jean was curled up with her head on Logans' arm and holding Hank's hand tightly. Ororo sat with Wanda beneath one arm and Pietro under the other, both trying to bicker by tapping each other, but giving up after a few attempts. Todd sat at Ororo's feet trying to be close to Wanda as well as where she couldn't hex him. Lance and Kitty lay on the floor on their tummys, together, holding hands. Fred was by the play dough table still, and Logan had one eye on him. Rogue had given up against Remy as she was exhausted and had her head against her shoulder. Remy had his head rested on top of hers, a content smile on his face as he yawned quietly. John lay snoring loudly by the side of the sofa. Charles beamed at them all as Scott stood behind him.

"Children, this is Scott. He's another of my students, and he just arrived. Now, once we've had our milk, we shall all go to bed and sleep, no wandering please."

Jean sat up as she saw Scott and smiled, finding a small amount of energy. Scott stood still, his hair now brushed and clean and an emotionless expression on his face. The others hardly noticed as they were half asleep. Charles' friend, Moira MacTaggert brought out a tray with small cups of warm milk on and smiled at Charles as she passed him.

"Here ye go kiddies, take only one, tha's it. Good. There ya go. Only one Master Dukes, there we go." Moira finished handing them out and gave the last one to Scott, as he couldn't see what was going on. "There ye go lad. Drink up, eh."

She touched Charles' shoulder as she passed, knowing that they both would probably be up long after the children were dreaming. Ororo checked the kids around her to make sure they were all okay after drinking, only to find Pietro snoring lightly. Wanda smiled and got up, pulling Todd to get up too. Ororo turned and lifted Pietro so he rested against her hip, and took the first three upstairs to bed.

A minute later Logan got up and easily picked Kitty up off the floor, resting her on one arm and Lance in the other. Fred hurriedly followed, not wanting to be alone without either of his friends. Hank smiled at the usually fierce Wolverine's behaviour changed to gentle, kindness when faced with sleeping children.

Hank looked to Charles, then nodded, going across to Remy and Rogue. Remy stubbornly tried to lift Rogue himself, of course failing. Rogue grinned waking up slightly and held Remy's hand as Hank ushered them from the room, picking up John as they went past him.

Knowing that it was her job, Jean crossed the room and took Scott's hand gently. "This way, I'll show you."

Scott was led off upstairs by Jean, the silence only punctured by the small sounds of Jean telling Scott when to step up and when to not. Charles sighed into the empty room and smiled to himself, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Y' tired already Charles?" Moira's voice floated in from behind him.

"Yes, I'm afraid I am, Scott worries me and the children don't all get along, yet when tired they are all completely innocent and sweet to one another. It is most perplexing."

Moira laughed and handed him a glass of red wine. "They're kids Charles, ye didn't think they'll be nice all t' time did ya?"

Charles merely smiled and took a sip of his wine. After a few hours, Moira and Charles had discussed what was to be done the next day and what had happened fully during the last two. At eleven o'clock there was a frantic knock at the door. Moira rushed to open it and found a number of people standing outside. She opened both doors wide and allowed them in, hushing them, and reminding any who didn't know that there were children sleeping in the place.

Firstly a woman approached Charles, leading several children with her, but pushing one ahead of her gently. She introduced herself as Mrs Guthrie and told the Professor about her son Sam, and how he had powers. Charles nodded and directed her to take Sam upstairs where one of his colleagues would direct them to a room. She thanked him profusely and hurried to do as he said.

Then a couple drew forward, talking in fluent German. Charles calmed them down and conversed perfectly with them, finding out they needed somewhere for their son to grow up away from people and their prejudices. Charles agreed before he saw their son, but afterward he knew why they had been so concerned to keep him safe. Kurt Wagner looked like a demon, although he was just another child mentally, and as far as Charles could establish had another mutation, but he wasn't certain what it was. The boy also reminded Charles strongly of Raven Darkholme, but he kept his mouth shut on this matter also.

Thirdly, Charles had to call Ororo down as her sister begged him to do so. Ororo gasped and hugged her sister tightly, as it was quickly explained that her son Evan needed protection from the mess she had gotten herself into. Ororo agreed without looking to the Professor and hugged her nephew, Evan, tightly to her, kissing her sister again before she disappeared into the night. Evan cried into Ororo's shoulder and she took him upstairs to a room close to her own.

Finally a couple came in, led by their daughter. She pulled them to Xavier and beamed at him. "I'm not tired."

Charles laughed at the girls certainty and spoke with the parents who were uncertain that this was the place for their daughter, but were willing to give it a go, especially after her powers had developed. Their little girl, named Jubilation, promptly fell asleep during the adults brief conversation, and Moira took her upstairs, bidding Charles goodnight as she did so.

Soon everyone had left, and Charles was alone with his thoughts. Fifteen students, and four staff… This would be difficult, if not entirely mad, then possibly even a little fun. He looked at his mansion and sighed. It wouldn't remain this way for long. Wearily, and entirely satisfied, Charles Xavier went to bed to dream of a world where humans and mutants lived peacefully together…

* * *

Sooooooo, yeah! That's the next part! What do ya think? Now you've met a lotta people, weird huh? Ah well, loads more to come, so please please review for me, and I'll update asap! 

Summers Groupie

-x-x-


	3. Enter Spiderman

Disclaimer: I own nothing, none of the characters, places, or names. Just the situations.

A/N: Kindergarten situation for the X-Men, based on Evolution and a few friends of mine's ideas. Spiderman included in this fic (He does fit… It is proved in the comics…) If some of the pairings are weird, blame Mrs Jean Grey Summers board (though it rocks beyond belief). Oh and I'm gonna say they know Logan's proper name, as it seems weird not to if I do know… Just an opinion and just this fic…

Thanks to: Agent-G, angelic devil 656, Lancitty Lover, ldypebsaby, amazing redd phoenix, The Komodo Dragon Phoenix, Black's Daughter, CloeyMarie andjenskott. YOU ROCK PEOPLE!

Last Time:

"Be good my little Jean." … "Yes daddy."

…

"…Help me out, by lettin' me help you."… "Scott. Scott Summers."

…

Pietro tried to distract Rogue from Remy by yelling at the top of his voice. "TRAINNNNNNNNNNNS!"

…

"This is Katherine Pry-"…"Kitty!" The girl corrected. "Kitty is what I like being calleded…"

…

"LAY OFF ME TOAD!"…"It's Todd, Wanda-kins, and I know you love me really!"

…

She introduced herself as Mrs Guthrie and told the Professor about her son Sam, and how he had powers.

…

Kurt Wagner looked like a demon, although he was just another child mentally…

…

Ororo gasped and hugged her sister tightly, as it was quickly explained that her son Evan needed protection…

…

Now for the next part of this kindergarten tale – oh lookie… baby Spidey… Agent-G, I think you'll understand if this chapter's for you!

* * *

Screams shook the mansion at breakfast and a huge noise burst out from the dining room. Logan snarled and stuck his head around the doorway seeing Kurt hiding in the corner, and Kitty pointing at him from behind Lance. He shook his head and went back to helping Ororo.

"Don't see why Chuck has the kids here if it's just a kindergarten."

Ororo smiled and put another box of cereal on the tray she was preparing. Moira laughed and dried her hands, putting the final beaker on her own tray and adding a jug of orange and milk.

"He has 'em here because here is safer, an' a lot o' the parents can't handle them, because o' their powers. Don'cha see Logan? The parents were given the option of remainin' here with their kiddies. But they all declined so far. John Grey was the one I thought'd stay, but no such luck." Moira shook her head sadly. "That wife o' his, controllin' him. Shame for the poor man."

Logan grunted and stuck his head around the corner to now see Scott and Jean defending Kurt. He grinned and spoke to the girls again without taking his eyes off the sight.

"I reck'n, that without his sight, that little kid I picked up yesterday might be good f'r a lotta the others. 'Specially Jeannie."

"Jeannie?" Ororo raised an eyebrow at Logan's affectionate term. "My my, the children are getting to him Moira."

Moira laughed again, causing Logan to scowl at them both with his mouth, though his eyes were smiling. They all stopped as the noise level went down. Ororo picked up her tray and nodded to the door. Moira did the same and followed Ororo out as Logan held the door open for them both, following them in to take his place between John and Kurt.

Charles sat at the head of the table and smiled around. "Well, we have had to move a bigger table in here."

A few of the students giggled, but Kitty still clung to Lances arm, hiding from the scary blue boy. On Charles' left, Remy sat down trying hard to impress Rogue who was already sitting next to him. Rogue rolled her eyes and looked at her dish as if she could fill it by staring. Pietro copied her, thinking how fun it was to bug the boy with red and black eyes. Wanda smiled brightly as Ororo sat between her and Todd. She nudged her brother who smiled and nodded before going back to staring. Ororo smiled at the little girl and gave Todd a warning look as he was about to protest. Todd sat back and grumbled, making Fred laugh next to him and John pull a face across the table from him. Lance would've laughed as he sat next to Fred, but he was too busy holding Kitty's hand tightly beneath the table, sneering at the blue boy. Moira stood at the opposite end of the table to Charles, looking at each child individually. Evan sat close to her, upset he couldn't sit next to his auntie, but content after a night's sleep. Sam who had arrived with him, sat next to Evan, wishing that his mommy had stayed longer than just the night. Between Sam and John sat Jubilation who 'still wasn't tired'. Logan grunted hiding a laugh as he took his place between Kurt and the already proved fire mad boy. Scott loyally sat between Kurt and Jean, talking to the new boy oblivious of why everyone else was afraid of him. Jean talked to Hank, not really concerned that Scott wasn't speaking to her, as she liked Kurt too. Hank laughed and involved Charles in their conversation about fuzzy bear doctors, asking if bears could be professors too.

The five eldest helped the kids get their breakfast and drinks, smiling as they squeaked their thanks. Charles was now deep in conversation with Jean about bears and doctors, so Logan was the first to notice something different outside. He stood up and gave John a look as he tried to sneak closer to Kurt. Logan didn't even want to know what that pyromaniac was going to do, it wouldn't have been good, and that's what mattered. John growled to himself and folded his arms. Grinning and shaking his head, as Ororo raised an eyebrow to inquire what was wrong, Logan strode from the room. She shrugged and went back to talking to Wanda and Todd one after the other. Todd tried to talk to Wanda around Ororo, but Wanda just stuck her tongue out at him.

Logan went to the front door and opened it suddenly. Three people stood on the doorstep, two adults and one little kid. "You here about the kindergarten?"

The woman nodded as the man stepped forward, holding out his hand. "I'm Ben Parker, this is my wife May, and this is our nephew Peter. He isn't exactly what your Professor spoke about on that TV broadcast, but he is gifted."

Logan shook the man's hand and looked down at Peter. "So what's his gift then?"

"He's really smart, I think that's just normal, but he can stick to walls, and he is stronger than he's ever been. He was on a field trip and he got bitten by a spider from one of the experiments, we traced what could've happened, that's all that we can figure out. But he sketched these." Ben held out a brown folder. "Take a look later. Is it correct we can stay?"

"Yeah. Kids are just sittin' down t' breakfast. Professor Xavier's in there wit' 'em." Taking the folder, Logan held out a hand to stop the three progressing for a moment. "By th' way, at least one o' the kids in there don't look like a normal human bub, it's what's called a physical mutation. Remember he's just a kid, same as Petey, eh?"

May nodded and spoke for the first time. "Oh I know what that must be like, the poor dear. Have the other children been alright with him?"

Eyes widening, Logan shook his head. "Two have, but one o' them can't see anyway, s'not very nice for the kid."

"No…" Peter said quietly. "I got picked on for glasses, but when the spidey bit me then I didn't need them the next day. I have musk-als."

He interrupted himself and Logan smiled at the pronunciation. "Muscles, kid, muscles, and I betcher do, that's great kid."

Peter smiled and held his aunt's hand tightly. Ben nodded to Logan and the three walked in after him. Charles turned in surprise and smiled at the newcomers.

"Welcome, welcome. I am Charles Xavier and who is this?" he addressed first the adults before the child who grinned and told the man his name. "Very well, welcome Peter, are these lovely people your family?"

"Yep, Aunt May and Uncle Ben. They look after me." Peter smiled and let go of their hands, going round to Scott and Kurt first, though Wanda caught his eye. "Hello, who're you?"

Kurt beamed at being addressed first out of everyone and shook Scott's shoulder to show him where the new boy was. Scott turned and holding Jean's hand from a moment ago when she'd taken it. He looked in the general, vague direction of Peter and seemed to try and guess where he truly was.

"I am Kurt Wagner, this is Scott Summers. Ve vere talking about juice and it's meaning, vud you care to join us?"

"Yeah, sure! I like juice too." Peter said scrambling up between John and Kurt, already starting to talk to them, though he glanced across to Wanda again and found her staring at him, blushing he turned back to the two boys he'd started talking to.

Charles beamed at Peter's behaviour and smiled. "You have a wonderful nephew, not many children his age would do that."

"Yes," May said softly, "We've tried to bring him up best we can, what with his parents dying whilst he was so little. You said that parents could stay, does that include us?"

Nodding Charles smiled at the two. "Of course, I would be delighted to accept you into my home. But I may ask a favour of you, to help with keeping an eye on the children? As you can see I am rather short staffed for so many children."

Ben shook Charles hand firmly and nodded "Of course we will, you're helping Peter and giving us a home here. Least we can do."

Jean looked at the man and tugged on Hank's arm, after dropping Scott's hand so he could lean on his arm whilst talking to Peter and Kurt. "Doctor McCoy? Are they gonna help too? Will they be nice?"

Hank smiled. "Of course they'll be nice Jean, the Professor wouldn't let nasty people near any of you."

Ororo stood and began clearing the food away. Wanda jumped up and began to try and help. Fred pushed Todd back into his seat as he tried to mimic her, causing Todd to sulk. Lance and Kitty got up and ran into the play room across the hall and began to play with the blocks. Moira found their relationship immensely funny and chuckled as she too helped Ororo clear up. Remy was trying to persuade Rogue to play snap with him, and Pietro was trying to make her play trains with him. Rogue buried her face in her arms and put her hands over her ears trying to ignore them both. Sam, Jubilation and Evan were giggling and got down from the table to talk underneath it. Kurt looked after Kitty and Lance with a sad expression. Peter saw and Scott sensed something was wrong.

"Kurt? What is it?"

"I don't know, it's just zat I vud like to be friends vith ozzer people, but zey are so afraid of vat zey don't look at closely. It's not fair!"

Scott patted his shoulder. "I can't see, so don't tell me that."

Peter laughed and nodded. "I can see fine and I came an' talked to you. Don't worry, they'll come around."

Kurt sighed and grinned. "You are right, vell? Let's go play! I have an idea for a cool game!"

The three got up quickly and whilst Kurt and Peter took off in the lead, Scott hung back and tapped Jean on the back. She turned around and looked at him happily, before asking what was up.

"Kurt, Peter and me are gonna go play, you wanna come?" Scott asked timidly and chewed his lip worriedly.

"Sure! But I gotta go help Hank first and Logan. Then can I come play?"

Scott nodded and walked away dragging his feet; he felt stupid and sad. 'Why would she wanna play with me… I'm just a naughty boy who can't see…' he thought and went to sit in a corner on his own. Kurt and Peter saw him do this and went across to find out if he was gonna play.

"Scott?"

"Go 'way… I'm tired, I don't wanna."

Kurt nodded and shrugged to Peter who had spoken before. They wandered off and discovered that their powers were cool together, once Kurt revealed that he could teleport short places. Deciding to play spies, they were soon crawling over the floor and pretending they were on a secret mission.

Jean and Hank went downstairs to the lab, and Jean was unusually quiet. Hank put her up on the workbench and sat down to fit the lenses he had made early that morning. "What's the matter Jean?"

Looking up from twirling a pencil in mid air, Jean shook her head. "Nothing."

Hank smiled at her and continued fiddling with his work. "Come now, I won't tell. Promise."

Dropping her pencil on the floor, Jean sighed and looked at the strange glasses. "Scott seemed really upsetted when I told him I had to help you. And I don't know why."

Finally putting one lens in, Hank looked up and smiled. "I think he wanted you to play, that's all. You are the first person he talked to, his first friend, so naturally he would want to play and took your having to help me as rejection."

Jean nodded in agreement letting Hank begin to fix the other lens, before looking at him in confusion. "What's rejection?"

Up in the living room where the kids were, Logan was red in the face and ready to pop his claws into someone, namely John Allerdyce. That little kid had been trailing him all morning after getting yelled at for annoying every single other person in the room. Logan felt like pulling his hair out or really hurting something, but he couldn't as both he and Ororo were on 'watch-the-brats' duty.

"Mister Logan?"

"Kid, get away from me."

"But Mister Logan, I wanna tell you somethin'. It's important."

"WHAT!" Logan yelled, his patience breaking.

John flinched, but kept grinning. "I can make bubbles from my mouth and make fires grow really really big!"

Logan sighed and rubbed his eyes. He looked down at the annoying boy who seemed pleased with himself. "Thank you Sparky, now leave me alone, okay?"

"Okay Mister Logan. See ya later!" John called as he ambled off to bug someone else, or possibly find some fire to play with…

Ororo laughed at Logan's annoyance and passed another hair clip to Wanda who was busy with Kitty and Rogue doing her hair. It was amazing how they all joined together in one task. Rogue was talking a little more now that the other two girls were making light conversation as the played with Ororo's beautiful hair.

Logan quickly had another kid attached to him, but this one seemed okay. It was the Jubilation girl and she was just talking to him about herself and asking about him. He found it cute and soon sat down on the floor to talk to her.

Lance was sulking because Kitty had left him, but Fred and Todd were cheering him up, as well as Todd planning another way to win Wanda over. Pietro was playing explode trains again, teaming up with his rival to make the explosions real. Remy laughed as he blew up another train as it hit a block on the floor. Evan had joined them to add his spikes to their game.

Sam had joined in Pete and Kurt's game, not really bothered by Kurt's appearance ("Ah saw worse on t' farm at home."). They were cheering and whooping as they found their prize that Logan had hidden for them at the beginning of the game. Examining it carefully, they opened the silver foil and found eight cookies! They all conferred and Kurt walked across to their visually challenged friend.

"Scott? Ve found the secret codes and completed our mission, and ve thought ve'd share our prize vith you, after all, you did help us vith the harder clues." He put the cookies on Scott's hand and smiled.

Scott closed his hand around the snack and touched them with his other. A smile gradually grew on his face. "Thanks Kurt, and Sam and Peter. You think we could play all together after we store your prize?"

Kurt nodded and laughed along with the others. "Ja, let's!"

Logan smiled across and told the boys that were playing violent games to stop singeing the carpet with their explosions. They blinked, surprised he hadn't hold them to quit it and quickly moved their trains up to the table. Remy waved to Rogue happily, causing her to send him a quick smile. Remy fell off his seat backwards and grinned at her, causing Pietro to hit his arm and pull him back to the game.

"Do you like him?"

"Who, Remy?" Rogue turned back to her plaiting and looked at Kitty in surprise.

"Ya huh, you don't smile at no one then he gets one." Wanda added, clipping Ororo's hair up at one side and brushing it lovingly. "I love your hair Princess Ororo."

"Thank you Wanda." Ororo smiled, "But you three are princesses too. Because you are girls, then you are princesses. Every girl is."

Wanda beamed, as did the other two. "Thanks 'Roro, and ah do, but your brother's kinda cute too Wanda."

Kitty giggled as Wanda scowled and shook her head. "Nuh uh he isn't, he's weird."

Rogue smiled and stuck her tongue out concentrating. Kitty took the brush from Wanda and brushed another part of Ororo's hair. "Thank you Princess Wanda, we will make Princess Ororo look more beautiful than she does already."

"Yes we will Princess Kitty. Do you like Prince Lance?"

Kitty wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "We felleded out again. Doesn't the blue boy scare you?"

"Nuh uh. Ah think he's cool."

"Princess Rogue!" Kitty exclaimed and froze half way through Ororo's hair with the brush. "Why? He's blue and scary."

"Ah don't know, ah just do. How 'bout you Wanda?"

"Meh." Wanda replied and put another clip in her part of the hairstyle. "Don't bother me. If he talks I'd talk back, but if not I won't."

Kitty glared at the both as Rogue stole the brush and smiled again. She threw her hands into the air and walked around to sit on Ororo's lap as the other two finished off. She sucked her thumb and looked up at her current heroine. "Ororo… do you think that I should talk to the blue boy?"

Ororo kept her head still, as Rogue and Wanda shrieked after she moved it slightly, and looked down at Kitty. "His name is Kurt, and he's quite lovely. I like him."

Kitty nodded and sucked her thumb. "Okay, I'll try."

Logan stood up and picked Evan off the floor where he was crying. He handed him to Ororo, whom he was crying for and smiled at her strange hairdo. "Nice new look 'Ro."

Ororo smiled and hugged Evan tightly as he quietened down and smiled at the other three girls who looked proud of their work. Kitty got up as Kurt lagged behind his friends, fiddling with his tail which had gotten stuck as it had a mind of it's own (so he proclaimed). Ororo winked at Logan and he grinned.

"Aw!" Kitty shrieked as Ororo giggled. "Prince Logan and Princess Ororo love each other!"

Wanda began to giggle, as did Rogue, Evan looked horrified and hugged Ororo tightly. Kitty used it as a distraction and walked across to Kurt. "H-hello."

Kurt jumped and squeaked, scared and held his tail between his hands. "Oh, it is just you. Vhat is wrong? Do you vant me to move, leave?"

Kitty shook her head and looked at him closely. "You have fur. I'm Kitty. I, I wondered if you wanted to play?"

Beaming suddenly, Kurt nodded. "Ja, I vould like zat a lot Keetty. Can I tell ze ozzers zen come back?"

After she nodded, Kurt ran off and told them all in a low and excited voice that Kitty wanted to play with him. Sam, Scott and Peter smiled at him and told him to go play and that they didn't mind. He dashed back, slightly breathless and grinned, showing small fangs, "Zere, they said okay."

Smiling, Kitty flinched then took his hand and led him to the blocks. Kurt sat down after marvelling at the warmth of her hand in his and smiled. He picked up a block and placed it ceremoniously in front of her. Kitty giggled and put another on top of it. Kurt smiled and began to treat it as a game, placing another on top of hers. Soon they had three towers that were wobbling dangerously. Kurt's tail picked up one last block and put it on top of the final tower and slowly came back. Kitty's eyes lit up dangerously and she pushed her face through the blocks, phasing through them so they didn't fall. "BOO!"

Kurt yelped and fell backwards, his tail curling round, pulling the blocks over and Kitty onto him as she became solid again. They both squealed and laughed together. "Katzchen, zis has been so fun. I'm glad you aren't afraid of me."

"Me too." Kitty smiled, finding it was hard to be afraid of someone once you'd laughed with them and played a game which was really fun. "What's Kat-chen mean?"

Kurt shrugged and blushed, his fur flushing purple. "Mein Vater says it to meine Mutter, I'm not sure though. It's a nice name though, means nice things."

Touching his cheek, Kitty giggled and rolled off Kurt. "You're all purple! It's funny and cute."

Lance scowled over at them and muttered evilly at Kurt, causing Fred to laugh and Todd to pat him on the shoulder sympathetically. Shrugging him off, Lance sulked for a while, then ignored Kitty and Kurt and started drawing a picture of Kurt in pain. He grinned at the picture and made it worse and worse not paying attention to anything or anyone around him.

Hank suddenly burst in, carrying Jean on his back and smiled around. He hitched her up and bounced over to Scott, Peter and Sam. He smiled down at them and looked to Jean who grinned and waved at the three. "Told ya I'd come play. But first thing."

Scott looked up as he heard Jean's voice and felt his lips curl up in a smile, forgetting about what he had thought earlier. 'She came back!' his mind erupted in happiness. 'She came back!'

Jean giggled hearing this, but didn't let him know; she wriggled so Hank put her down and made Scott stand up and come with her to the doorway. Hank stood behind Scott and smiled. "Close your eyes and wait Scott."

As the bandage fell away, Scott bit his lip scared about what they were doing, but trusting Jean as he felt her presence on the edge of his mind, which surprised him. Charles wheeled up from the side silently, guiding Peter's aunt and uncle back to where the children where playing. They all froze and the Professor explained what Hank and Jean were doing to help Scott in the two human's minds. They nodded and waited as Jean reached up and put the glasses on Scott's face carefully.

"Just make sure I put them on right, then open your eyes." Jean said quietly and smiled. Scott reached up and felt the foreign object on his face then opened one eye slowly. He closed it again quickly and squeezed his eyes shut before opening both eyes. He felt his jaw drop as he laid eyes on the girl he was already friends with and saw her giggle.

"You're beautiful." He managed as he shut his mouth and smiled.

Jean giggled more and blushed. "Only 'cause you saw me first, you'd say that if Logan was the first thing you saw."

Scott shook his head and smiled wider, blushing himself. "No, you really are. Did you help Doctor McCoy? Did you make them Doctor McCoy?"

He turned to look at the man behind him and smiled brightly as he nodded. "Thank you sir! I love them I really do!"

Hank laughed and insisted he be called 'Hank', before ruffling Scott's hair and pushing both him and Jean into the playroom. Charles wheeled over and smiled at his friend, shaking his hand firmly. May and Ben hugged each other, happy for the boy and pleased by how many friends Peter had already. Hank smiled at Charles and shrugged off the praise he was given.

"Hank, you have restored hope in that boy, you should be proud." Charles smiled, still pumping his hand.

Laughing again, Hank forced the ecstatic man to let go of his hand and clapped him on the shoulder. "I am a doctor, this is what I do."

Charles looked around as Logan and Ororo came over from their activities with the children and Moira joined them all from the kitchen where she was preparing lunch. Standing around the founder, the mind behind bringing mutant children together safely, they smiled at the excitement of the students by Scott's new sight, and the reactions of the more sulky children trying not to move, yet straining to see what was going on.

"Well my friends? I think things are as good as they get." Charles smiled.

Moira shook her head and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I wouldn't be too sure Charles. It's the wee kiddies that surprise ye the most often."

"Sometimes you say just a word and they change everything for one person." Ororo nodded with a smile, thinking of Kitty and Kurt.

Logan smirked and nodded, staying quiet but agreeing. Hank beamed around and let his gaze rest on Jean and Scott. "They are the most complex creatures, and yet they are the most simple, with a clear view of the world, in black and white."

May and Ben looked at one another and smiled, before May spoke. "They're our future, our hope, our dreams that can come true. They only get better with time, and some of that innocence you can see in their eyes now will remain in the future, when they fall in love, or achieve something great. They all keep it, some how."

Charles' smile broadened as he listened to his colleagues, both new and old. "Then I suppose we shall wait and see what our future can bring these miracles of evolution. Our present, our future,… Our dreams."

Did you like? Sorry for the wait, I wanted it to be good! Please tell me what you think! Especially about the end comment of each teacher, that's bugging me, I need to know if it's okay?

C'mon, review me!

I'll send the first five reviewees a short preview, promise. You guys wanna know more? Then review faster than the others. (oo the bribery ) Your time starts… NOW!

Oh and by the way, the princess thing Ororo said I kinda mimicked from 'A little Princess' but its totally true! Every girl is a Princess and every guy is a Prince, you just gotta find them inside yourself.

Summers Groupie

-x-x-


	4. Lesson time and a new arrivals

Disclaimer: I own nothing, none of the characters, places, or names. Just the situations.

A/N: Kindergarten situation for the X-Men, based on Evolution and a few friends of mine's ideas. Spiderman included in this fic (He does fit… It is proved in the comics…) If some of the pairings are weird, blame Mrs Jean Grey Summers board (though it rocks beyond belief). Oh and I'm gonna say they know Logan's proper name, as it seems weird not to if I do know… Just an opinion and just this fic…

Thanks to: CloeyMarie, Agent-G, angelic devil 656, Nettlez, amazing redd phoenix, Thanagarian Angel, kittyangel7501 and Rising Goddess.

Last time:

"I'm Ben Parker, this is my wife May, and this is our nephew Peter. He isn't exactly what your Professor spoke about on that TV broadcast, but he is gifted."

…

"Mister Logan?"…"Kid, get away from me."…"But Mister Logan, I wanna tell you somethin'. It's important."…"WHAT!" Logan yelled, his patience breaking.

…

Charles' smile broadened as he listened to his colleagues, both new and old. "Then I suppose we shall wait and see what our future can bring these miracles of evolution. Our present, our future,… Our dreams."

And now – chapter four, lesson time! Poor teachers….

* * *

"CHILDREN! PLEASE CALM DOWN!" Hank bellowed, trying to sound patient, yet get their attention. Jean stopped, as did Scott, Kurt, Peter and Sam. Kitty stopped a minute after Kurt, as she had taken to hanging with him more than Lance as she and Kurt didn't argue as much. 

Rogue was already quietly sitting on the floor in the corner, allowing Remy to sit close to her and talk to her, though she didn't answer him at all. He was happy enough just to not be snapped at or totally ignored, so he carried on regardless, becoming more animated whenever she added one word to the conversation, even if it was sarcastic. Logan chuckled at her being able to use sarcasm, though she wouldn't know the meaning of the word or understand what she was doing. He rolled his eyes at Hank's attempts and stood up, and growled, popping all six claws.

"Sit-down." He ordered through gritted teeth and there was a rumble as every child sat suddenly. Logan looked back at Hank who was rubbing his eyes and shaking his head at Logan's method of 'persuasion'.

Charles wheeled into the make-shift school room and smiled at the vast group of children. Peter looked behind him and waved to his aunt and uncle who were sitting at the back. They smiled and waved back, then looked intently at Professor Xavier. He turned around and whispered to Kurt and Sam who smiled and nodded.

Jean sat next to the wall, kneeling up and with a hand on Scott's shoulder to steady herself. Scott smiled as he crossed his legs and let her lean on him. He looked up at her and found himself thinking how pretty she was again. He'd seen the others and, much to Kurt's delight, he still wanted to be friends with every single one of them. Actually, the others had taken to Scott as some sort of leader, as he was softly yet firmly spoken and knew his own mind more often than the others.

Kitty sat next to Kurt and behind Jean, trying to find out more about them, then repeating it in a louder voice to herself and giggling. She seemed to have lots of energy, but that suited Kurt fine as he often felt the same. He told her all about the circus he had grown up in and promised to show her some of the moves later. Kurt was also next to Peter, and Sam sat in the middle behind them. They had already come up with a new game, but they wanted Evan to play too, though he was rather quiet.

Jubilation had joined Logan again and was sat on his knee after his claws had been withdrawn and he had sat down again. She hugged him and looked across at Kitty interested in her and the blue boy beside her. Ororo again had Wanda by her side and had consented to sit on the floor by her as a way to help Wanda keep Todd away. Wanda had led her over and sat near Peter, trying to get a response from him. Todd, Fred and Lance were scowling at the side, Todd as Wanda seemed to like Peter, Lance as Kitty seemed to like Kurt and Fred just so he could fit in.

The pyromaniac was sat near Pietro and Remy as they seemed to share ideas of destruction. Evan had been invited to help, but had refused as he wanted to 'think' – as he told them. Remy crawled back over to Rogue after he had given John a poke in the back and smiled as he tried to talk to her again, resulting in her placing a gloved finger to his lips and shaking her head as she pointed to Charles. Nodding in agreement he looked expectantly over to the Professor and waited.

As silence fell, well as much silence as there can be in a kindergarten, Charles leaned forward in his wheelchair and smiled. "Good morning class."

"Hello." Evan spoke up, causing giggles to echo round the class. He turned and grinned at them, before looking back to Charles, whose eyes were dancing with mirth.

"Hello Evan. Now, shall we progress?"

This gained the Professor a roomful of confused looks and he sat up straight, trying to remain in control. "What I mean, children, is shall we learn something today?"

Now the confused looks turned to smiles and nods, causing the two at the back to smile, Logan to shake his head and Ororo to hug Wanda as she was told that Charles was very clever and that Wanda wanted to learn. Jubilee poked Logan in the cheek and told him to sit up as Charles continued.

"Now how many of us know the alphabet off by heart, hmm?"

Jean shakily raised her hand and looked around as no one else copied her. Charles gave her an encouraging smile. "That's wonderful Jean, can you tell us what it is, please? Go ahead, don't be shy."

Swallowing, Jean turned around to face the rest of the class and gave them a nervous smile, then froze. Scott sensed something was wrong and whispered to Kurt who shrugged and said he didn't know what to do. Biting his lip, Scott stood up too, causing Jean to look at him blankly. He held her hand and she smiled, beginning to recite the alphabet how she had learnt it, as a song.

Ororo looked back at Logan and they shared a secret smile, as did Hank and Charles. It was obvious to them that the two children shared something, but how much they shared would be discovered in later years…

Charles clapped Jean as she finished, the rest of the room joining in as she and Scott sat back down again, Jean blushing and smiling, whilst Scott just didn't let go of her hand. After the applause had died down, Charles took control.

"Now do you think we can all learn that today? We will do some pictures to help, then you may all play for a while, and we shall finish today by a game I call circle time."

Logan stood up and put Jubilee on the floor as Charles passed out chalk boards and packs of chalk to every child. He laughed to himself as they spilt up, now forming two very decisive groups. One led by Scott and Jean, and the other led by Pietro and Wanda. Wanda however didn't seem keen on this and dragged Ororo to the others.

"Can I play and stuff here?" She asked Kitty as she was the closest. Kitty nodded and smiled, scooting across so Wanda could sit by her. Wanda beamed and let go of Ororo's hand as she sat down. Jubilee pushed past Logan and Ororo and sat down on Kitty's other side, telling them both her name and asking what their favourite colour was.

Jean was singing parts of the song slowly and the others repeated it, then she asked them to try that bit on their own. Ororo chuckled at Jean's teaching skills and moved away from Wanda so she could play with people her own age.

Scott sat close to Jean again, but no-one disputed that. Rogue gave her a look at one point from the other group, but then she gave up and contented herself with plaguing Remy by giving one-word answers and not meeting his eyes or smiling. Kitty looked over to Lance to see if he missed her and was horrified by the look he shot Kurt. Turning back around she gave Kurt a hug out of the blue, causing him to grin and Lance to scowl even more. Wanda was ignoring Peter to see if he'd talk to her, which, in turn, was making him curious and want to talk to her. Sam tried to convince him to as he thought it was a fun game between the two of them. Kurt nodded as he listened to Jean and Sam and tried to sing the song after her and agree with Sam at the same time.

"Ay Bee Cee – you should – Dee Ee efF Gee – go talk to her – Haich I Jay Kay – ozzervise – elL eM eN Oh Pee – you vill regret it – Queue aRe esS Tee yoU Vee – trust me – double yoU eX whY and Zee. Hey I did it!" Kurt grinned as he finished the song, then his tail pushed Peter gently towards Wanda. "You go man, go."

Peter glared at Sam and Kurt, then got up and walked across to Wanda. "Ahem." He coughed behind her, causing her to turn around and look at him. "Um, hi, I'm Peter, umm, you wanna learn together, maybe?"

Wanda looked at him in surprise and felt a warm feeling in her tummy. "Okay, you don't mind do you Jubes, Kitty?"

Kitty and 'Jubes' as Jubilee had been dubbed shook their heads and had a race to see who could get over to Sam and Kurt first. They drew, but that left Wanda and Peter alone. Peter sat down and put his chalk board in front of him and tried to remember the song. Wanda pulled out a piece of chalk and scribbled on her board to make it a different colour. Red and black was soo better than just black.

"So umm, you've got a brother?" Peter asked carefully, breaking the silence. Wand nodded.

"He's not nice though, I hate him sometimes."

"He seems hyper."

"He is." Wanda smiled. "Do you have a brother or sister?"

"No, and my parents are in heaven, so I won't have any more, less they send one from there." Peter admitted quietly. Wanda had an urge to hug him as he looked so sad, but she fought it back and instead touched his hand, which sent a shock through her body, but a nice one. Peter felt it too and met her eyes.

"Did you feel that?"

"Yeah… Is your tummy weird?"

"Uh huh, it's all warm and fluttery like butterflies in Summertime."

Wanda's eyes widened and she smiled "Mine too. I think that means we have to be friends. But I don't feel the butterflies when I talk to Kitty or Jubes."

Peter nodded and was puzzled. "Nor me when I talk to Sam and Kurt and Scott. It's weird, but cool."

"Uh huh." Wanda mimicked his earlier agreement.

Smiling, Peter touched her knee and held out his pinky. "Friends?"

Linking pinkies, Wanda nodded and a matching smile spread across her face. "Friends."

They continued to work on their alphabet puzzle as Pietro joined Todd in giving them a sour look. Pietro continued to try and say his as fast as possible so it sounded right. He figured if the Professor thought he said it right then it was as good as. Fred frowned to himself as he tried to learn it from the little tape that had begun to play in the corner with it on. Lance nudged him and pointed to a pot of paint over on the table. Grinning, Fred realised Lance's plan and allowed the smaller boy to help him learn so they could play. Todd soon noticed them working together and hopped over.

"What's happenin', yo?"

Lance rolled his eyes and shrugged, so it was Fred who answered. "We's is learnin', aintcha doin' th' same Todd?"

"Too right. But with my back to them over there. They bug me, yo."

"Quit it!" Lance hissed and looked up at Todd. "Come here and we'll help each other, or go away so we can do it and play later."

The three settled down to work quickly, much to Logan's glee as he was watching this half of the room with Hank as back up. John, however, wasn't as quick to calm down. He jumped up and tugged on Logan's leg and grinned as the man became frustrated when he didn't stop pulling, even after Logan had asked what he wanted. "Logan, Mister Logan, Logan, Mister Logan." He chanted, a whining tone in his voice as Logan's expression soured further and further.

"What…kid?" Logan spoke through clenched teeth, his fists balled up and the muscles in his arms twitching as if his claws wanted to pop out.

"Nothin'." John said smugly and turned away, smirking at Remy as he completed his dare.

Remy shook his head and knew he now had the task of repeating the exercise with an angry to begin with Logan. He stood up slowly and looked to Rogue for support as she had chosen to sit by him still, instead of moving over to the other group. Rogue flashed a small smile his way and Remy felt four feet tall. Cautiously, he made his way over to Logan and put his hands behind his back and looked up at him, smiling an innocent and charming smile at the man he was about to annoy to the extremes. If he died, Remy thought, it was John's fault.

"Monsieur? Monsieur? Logan?"

"Hm?" Logan grunted in response, still trying to calm his raised temper, not wanting to take it out on a kid.

"But Monsieur Logan! Logan? Monsieur Logan? Logan?"

"What?" Logan snapped, not looking at Remy, afraid that if he did he would explode.

"Monsieur? You won't look! Logan? Monsieur Logan? Monsieur? Monsieur? Logan? Logan? Logan? Logan?" Remy continued to change between the three titles he had at the current time for Logan and interjecting himself with comments such as 'look', 'but, but, but…' and 'oh, but look'.

Logan's temper rose and he closed his eyes trying to block out the noise. Remy took this as a sign of weakness and grinned further, the children behind him in fits of laughter as he continued. Suddenly Logan snapped and grabbed Remy's shoulders tightly as if to shake the boy. Remy's eyes widened and he shut up at once, going completely rigid in Logan's hands. All the laughter stopped behind him and even the opposite side of the room shut up to look at the furious Logan and terrified Remy.

"You want something Gumbo?" Logan breathed and smirked as Remy shook his head stiffly. "Then quit buggin' me an' go learn yer alphabet."

Logan could smell the fear coming off Remy in waves and let him go abruptly, letting the boy run quickly back to his friends who were still silent. Raising an eyebrow at them, he turned and walked away, heading for the door. Ororo stood and let the Parker's take over her side of the room as she cut Logan off halfway. The chatter rose again and Ororo could see Rogue hugging Remy behind Logan's back, which was sweet, but she had to calm down the man in front of her.

"Logan…"

"Let me outta here, now 'Ro. Or else-"

"Or else what Logan?" Ororo snapped back and stared at him, challenging him to speak, and folding her arms. "What will you do?"

Logan glared at her and tensed his arms up, the intensity of their look not unnoticed by the other teachers. He eventually dropped her gaze and looked away. Ororo grinned triumphantly and touched his shoulder. "You don't have to get angry, play them at their own game Logan."

She smiled as the thought trailed across his mind and hit home. He smiled triumphantly and nodded. "Yer right. They'll never know what hit 'em!"

Ororo laughed and went back to check on Remy. He was shaken at first but after Rogue had hugged him, he seemed to be melodramatically telling it so he was braver and smarter than he had actually. Jean, across the other side of the room, had seen how Logan reacted to being annoyed and now was coming up with a scheme of her own, especially as he was nice to her all the time, then spoke behind her back to the other teachers. A devious smile formed on her face and Jean knew her plan would be perfect.

A barking noise was heard from the hall and Logan turned to see Moira in tears holding a small puppy, and pushing a small boy forward, who looked younger than the others. Logan growled and the pup shut up and whimpered at Moira. "What's that thing doin' here Moira?"

"She, and it's my daughter in a way. Jamie go in there."

Logan's eyebrows raised as Hank dashed past him, Jamie going the other way to sit by Jean and Scott who looked comforting. Hank's eyes widened. "Rahne?"

Moira nodded and tears shone in her eyes again. Hank took the puppy from her and petted her gently. "Rahne, you got stuck?"

Jean heard the noise, but before she could react, Jubilation had thrown herself out and was squealing "PUPPYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!"

Moira held Jubilation back and looked to Hank, but he gave her big eyes and she let the girl go. Cautiously, she approached Hank and the puppy, putting out a hand to pet it. "Nice puppy…"

"She is called Rahne." Moira chipped in, still looking at the puppy with worried eyes. "Can ye not do somethin' Hank? She needs t' be back t' normal!"

Professor wheeled across and looked from Moira to Hank to Rahne. "Down to the med bay Hank, I will assist. Children please be good and you may play whilst we are busy."

"I wanna play with the puppy." Pietro cried, his eyes brimming. Wanda did the same and trembled, feeling the emotions of Pietro being upset as they were so used to being together. Peter hugged her and she smiled weakly, but kept looking at the puppy.

Rahne leaped from Hank's arms and tore into the room, yapping and barking at everyone, licking the few that didn't squeal and run off. Jamie fell backward as Rahne leapt up at him, recognising and liking his scent. Suddenly there were three Jamies, one being licked by Rahne and the other two looking quite annoyed and scared. Jean squeaked and held Scott's arm, looking at the three boys that had been one.

"Down Rahne. Bad Rahne!" the original Jamie giggled and pushed her down, sticking his tongue out as he concentrated on pulling his selves together.

Jean stepped out and stared at him, then grinned wickedly and called to the boy mentally. What's your name?

Jamie looked around confused and spoke out loud. "Jamie. Where are you?"

Giggling Jean called again, and Scott rolled his eyes behind his new glasses to signal he thought it was dumb to play games on the younger boy, though the gesture was pointless. Behind the boy with red glasses on. Turn around.

Jamie turned slowly and smiled at Jean, waving happily. She waved back and giggled again. "Come play!"

Happily ambling over to the girl and boy, Jamie had Rahne at his heels until Ororo picked her up. Jamie smiled at her. "Bye bye Rahne, back soon."

Rahne whimpered and was passed back to Hank who kept hold of her and took her to the lab, where the Professor was already waiting. The Professor laughed at the look on Hank's face and shook his head. Hank grinned and put Rahne on the table.

"You'd better try first Charles, who knows what would happen if I attempted without any knowledge."

Charles nodded and concentrated on the mind of Rahne, willing her to listen and change back.

Hank and Charles were down in the lab for quite some time. Ororo carried on playing with the children, trying to play with some of the boys, but that proved hard as the girls didn't want to let her go, except Jean and Kitty. They were more than happy to play with the boys, as that was the gender of their best friends. Jean was still plotting against Logan happily, but she continued to play with the others and help Scott learn, as he refused to play until he learnt the alphabet.

Rogue was still being followed by Remy, but she didn't find it annoying anymore, in fact she quite liked it and was upset if he wasn't there, though she didn't let him know that. He was a boy and not allowed to know. Then again, neither were the girls, so it didn't make much difference.

Peter and Wanda were in different groups again, but they kept glancing at one another, both shocked if anyone noticed what they were doing and horrified if the other saw. Todd was trying to keep Wanda's attention on him by bouncing up and down and acting stupid to make her laugh. At first she got annoyed and yelled at him, firing mini-hexes in his direction. Then she gave up and talked to her brother, whilst looking at Peter. Peter was trying to play games with Sam, then he switched to helping Jean and Scott. It was easier, he found, to stay quiet whilst helping.

Moira was on edge, sitting by Jamie, who was talking to Kurt, throwing strange glances at her as if to ask why she was sitting there. A small yap however made Moira stand. The puppy from before burst into the room and ran to Moira, licking her leg, then hiding behind the sofa, barking happily and wagging her tail.

Hank followed on his hands and knees. He looked up and grinned at Moira, before scrambling forward and attempting to follow the canine. Jubilation wasn't helping. She jumped on Hank's back and squealed with joy, crying 'Giddy up!'. Moira bit back a laugh and blinked unshed tears from her eyes.

Don't be disheartened Moira

Charles wheeled into the room and smiled. "Rahne? Come out the others want to meet you."

The puppy yapped and wriggled out of Hank's grasp, skidding across to run past the Professor. Moira sighed and shrugged. May and Ben chuckled thinking the same thoughts. The other children all got up, the noise level rising as the commotion was realised.

"Professor?"

All the noise stopped as a new voice was heard. A girl about Jamie's age could be seen behind the Professor's chair. She had one thumb in her mouth as she looked around the room. Moira froze then ran to the girl, and hugged her tightly.

"Children, this is Rahne Sinclair, she will be joining us from now on." Charles smiled. "Go ahead Rahne, you can go and play now. Lessons will begin again tomorrow. Try and finish learning the alphabet though."

With that he wheeled away and smiled at Moira's thankful expression. Each day brought a new challenge, he thought, and new friendships, trials… Possibly this was going to be the biggest mistake or the biggest achievement in his life. There was no in-between for this one. No chance for guessing, or slipping up.

He smiled slowly as he turned his head to look at the room of students and teachers. Achieving would be easy with such bright and interesting young people and with the experience of the elder ones the task was made easier again.

* * *

Annnnnnnd it's here. By the way, Kurt was saying the alphabet, so I put the noises, the sounds of the letters, so show he was learning and speaking. The capital letter was the actual letter he was saying.Fini! For now anyway, there is so much more to tell! You will all see… 

Please review and I hope you enjoyed.

Summers Groupie

-x-x-


	5. Night scares and Day worries

Disclaimer: X-Men characters don't belong to me, but this story does, hee hee!

I have a lot of apologies to make, but I'm hoping that my writing will make it up to you all, with a quick fire of updates. Maybe you'll enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Thank you, so much to: Agent G, amazing redd phoenix, CloeyMarie, ldypebsaby, Telepathic Angel, Nettlez, jenskott, Black's Daughter, auren and Ashley

* * *

Most of the children shared rooms: Jubilation, Kitty and Rogue; Fred, Lance and Todd; Evan, Sam and Kurt. Scott, Jean and Peter had their own rooms, as well as Wanda and Pietro sharing (after many arguments with Logan and Ororo). Jamie and Rahne were in Moira's room with her, needing her comfort. Xavier, Ororo, Logan and Peter's aunt and uncle got their own rooms, but they were spread evenly along the corridor the kids slept on. In fact, the majority of the mansion had been roped off, just in case they got lost.

Two screams shot through the Mansion the night after Rahne changed, both at exactly the same moment. Four a.m. and it awoke all the adults, and most of the children. Ororo burst into the nearest room where the scream was erupting from, as Logan burst into one just a little way down the hall. The two children in question were writhing on their beds enraptured in a dream state, trapped in their nightmares.

"Jean!" "Scott"

Xavier felt both children's pain and heard both yells at the same time. To make it less agonising for him, he, literally, built his mental shields up to full, so he could only hear the physical pain from them both. Both he had felt an instant connection to, but there was only one he knew he could definitely help…

"Logan, let me see her."

Logan stood back as Charles wheeled into Jean's room, and leant against the doorway as Charles attempted to calm her. His heart went out to the little girl, whom he felt an attachment to ever since their monster hunt. Tears stung the eyes of the fierce and bestial Wolverine that was a killer by nature. Somehow this girl was changing him at his core. Logan only started when he realised he didn't mind so much.

Entering her mind slowly, Charles was shocked by the images he saw. First flashes were of a girl on her street, a girl called Annie that had moved away when she was young, who had once been her best friend. He saw something confusing, as if it were parallel with events – he saw Jean and the girl covered in blood and felt something change in Jean, saw a flare, a flash of something not natural…not even a little human. Then flames engulfed his minds eye, showing him a new scene.

_He saw a family, a mother and a father as well as a young blond boy. "Alex? Scott?" The mother, a brown haired woman of grace and beauty smiled at Charles, or more precisely, Scott Summers. "Almost home, only a little longer boys." She ruffled the boy called Alex's hair and kissed Scott absently on his head as she passed. In the cockpit, the father turned. "Next time you boys'll be flying, you at least Scott." His smile made a beam of hope shoot through Scott. "Co-pilot then pilot, eh?" Eagerly nodding, the scene faded then a crash brought it back to the front. Heat, unbearable heat washed over him. "Katherine!" "Chris!" Scott looked at Alex in terror and hugged his little brother who started to cry. "Get them out!" Running back to the children, Katherine pulled out the parachutes, almost crying in horror when there was only one. She strapped Scott and Alex into it, and hugged them tightly. "Hold onto each other boys." She said tearfully and kissed them. "We love you, so much." With that she pushed them both from the burning plane, dropping them into the open air._

Everything burnt up before Charles' eyes and he had to pull back sharply. They had linked somehow. Charles was shocked, but Jean was calming, the loop broken by Charles' abrupt departure. Jumping from her bed, she fled to Scott's room, startling Ororo as she leapt to his side. She merely looked at Scott and his convulsing stopped.

Logan and Charles joined them a minute later. They stopped in the doorway, seeing the pair; Jean rocked Scott as if he were hers and hers alone, murmuring gentle words telepathically and verbally. Dry sobs stammered from Scott's lips as he held Jean, only needing her words and warmth to soothe his horrific past away. Ororo put the other children back to bed as the two men watched with interest and surprise. She whispered the same explanation to each child; easing their own fears and allowing them to slip back to sleep easily.

"It was just a bad dream, dear heart, only a bad dream."

Jean and Scott had fallen asleep by the time she got back, tangled in one another, whimpering if their physical contact was broken. Logan threw his hands up in temper, but kept his mouth shut as he shot Ororo a look for giggling at him. Charles smiled, his eyes tired but twinkling.

_-Leave them Logan, they will not be separated tonight.-_

Casting a dubious look at the Professor, Logan had his doubts about following that order. In his mind the only kids that should share a bed were two brothers or two sisters, not two kids of different genders and families. A glance at Ororo and he relented, seeing her expression of sympathy for the pair. He, himself, had seen Chuck's face when he glimpsed Jeannie's mind, and if it scared Chuck, then he could believe it was truly terrifying.

"Alright…" he said gruffly and stalked to the door, before growling, "but one thing Chuck, 'n' I won't be held responsible."

Smirking, Ororo kissed Charles on the cheek and went back to bed, leaving him to consider what he had seen. Scott's nightmare was easily identifiable – it was his past that scared him, the loss of his family and survivors' guilt, the only problem was what happened to his little brother.

Jean, however, was a different story – there were elements of her past, but much darker than he had ever imagined. Jean had been in an asylum, it was true, because of her powers, but that was before mutants had been publicly known. The outpouring of Annie's departure had been the cause of her X-gene triggering, but the immense grief that the 'other' Jean had experienced had a much greater effect on her psyche. Whether it would affect this Jean, the gentle creature he thought of as a niece, he didn't know, but he was determined to keep an eye on her.

The morning seemed to arrive without warning for the adults, but the kids were waiting for the first sun beams to touch their curtains so they could leap from their beds. Their rooms were furnished with a variety of toys and books – both educational and recreational. It was clear which the academics were when the adults checked the rooms, seeing which toys had been discarded in favour of others.

Ororo had the task of getting the girls up, which they were all ecstatic about, making her smile as she helped them pick out some clothes. Logan had the same task, but with the boys. He soon envied Ororo and her chirping girls as he had to wrestle and chase the boys everywhere just to get them into the bathroom. The Parker's found it funny to watch as they had offered assistance to Logan, who had declined.

Charles was up before eight and was down in the labs, checking and rechecking figures, preparing a lesson that the children could learn today. He was joined by Hank and two welcoming sights – a steaming cup of coffee and a short stack.

"Busy Charles?" Hank asked, sipping his own coffee. "Not too busy for breakfast, I hope. I prepared yours first my friend."

Charles smiled and put his papers down. "I'm sorry Hank, I am grateful."

Hank shook his head at the thanks and grinned wolfishly. "No need to apologise, I was merely informing you of the current situation. Which also is quite amusing if you venture upstairs. Logan is in a losing fight for the first time."

"He is fighting?" Charles raised his eyebrows as he took a gulp of coffee, savouring the flavour. A smile twitched on his lips as he caught the projected thoughts Hank sent him. "Ah."

The pair laughed and ate, talking about the kids and their work. Two scientists with hearts of gold, both concerned for the world that despised their kind and would hurt the children they were growing increasingly fond of. They set the world to rights when they spoke, neither mentioning but both understanding the work and time it would take.

The kids were good at breakfast, for once, Todd didn't nudge Wanda, and Rogue answered Remy with surprising enthusiasm. Jean and Scott spoke to other people, a little embarrassed about waking up that morning. Kurt and Peter didn't tease, but they smirked whenever Scott and Jean glanced at one another. Kitty and Jubilee gave Jean no such respect and soon the three were laughing about it. Poor Scott thought they were laughing at him and blushed so much he almost blended in with his glasses. Kurt and Kitty sat opposite one another, happily kicking one another to see if they could get away with it and giggling when they realised they had been caught. Wanda was civil to her brother and sat next to John, attempting to see if he was human. When she realised he wasn't, she turned her attention to other matters, like talking to Lance which annoyed Pietro.

Ororo sorted the classroom as they ate, talking to May Parker as she did so, the pair laughing and talking about the things that they had seen or done during their lives. Mostly it was May telling the stories, but Ororo had a few tales which were told at intervals. They liked the female company, and agreed that they should have an evening just talking, with Moira if she cared to join them, just to have a break.

Logan, Ben and Moira watched the kids as they behaved, Moira and Ben clearing the table and checking each child as they proclaimed to have finished. Ben agreed with Moira that sometimes they hid food they didn't like so they didn't have to eat it. Logan had already lost his temper, so he had been banished to sit on his own, much to the children's amusement. He had complained, but Moira and Ororo were scary when they were angry. So when Ororo went to tidy the room he had grabbed his coffee, so at least it looked like he wanted to sit alone.

Sam and Evan were becoming fast friends, and were making aeroplanes from paper, sitting out of the way on the floor. They allowed others to join in, but it was clear that it was their game. By the time the room was ready, there was a pile of paper planes by the door, everyone had made at least one. Proud of themselves they couldn't wait to show the Professor.

Jean pulled at Scott's hand before they went into the room and flashed him a smile so pure that they forgot their embarrassment and went to sit together. Wanda was talking animatedly to Kitty and Rogue as they sat down, hardly looking where they sat, as Jubes joined them giggling at a prank she just played on Logan. Kurt, Peter, Sam and Evan were cajoling Jamie to sit and hang out with them rather than just Rahne. He consented once Rahne had gone to sit with the other girls, who accepted her with eagerness, hugging the youngest girl with delight. Pietro ran round and round in circles, hyperactive as always and making Fred more than a little dizzy. Head spinning, he almost sat on Todd, who exclaimed loudly and stuck his long tongue out at him (much to Wanda's disgust). Lance sat glaring at Kurt, annoyed still that he got more of Kitty's attention. He knew he'd get revenge though.

As Logan appeared in the doorway, holding John under one arm and Remy's arm with his free hand, everyone quietened down, feeling the anger radiating from the man. He put them at opposite ends of the floor and stood in front of the class.

"Professor Xavier says yer all gotta try t' say yer alphabets to Ororo, one at a time, outside. Tha's today's test on yesterday, then we've got a game f'r yer." He grinned, his rage cooling at the innocence of the children that had behaved.

Jean cheered, and got Scott to join in. Soon the class was full of cheers, as they repeated it louder and louder until Logan's claws popped out. Silence had never occurred so sharply. "You first flameball." He growled at John, who smirked and strode out haughtily.

Ororo smiled as he approached her, hoping he would do well. "John, do you know your alphabet?" She asked kindly.

"Course I do." He grinned and started to say it. "Ay, Bee, See, Deh, Eeh, efF, Gee, AicH, Jay, Queue, eM, eN, Oh, Pay, I, Kay, aRe, esS Teh, elL, Vay, yoU, whY, eX, Zee."

John smiled proudly and looked at her sharply. "That's right, aint it lay-dee?"

Sighing, Ororo noted he had said every letter, just not in the right order. She shrugged hopelessly. "I think you should practise a little, but you remembered it all, well done."

Smirking in his haughty manner, he turned and walked back, passing Wanda along the way, who was eager to try to say it right and hoped Ororo would reward her with a hug or two. Her and Peter had learnt it really well yesterday, and she knew she knew it good. She liked Peter, definitely, she had decided when they had linked pinkies. You couldn't dislike someone and link pinkies; it must be naughty to do that!

Ororo saw all the children, one by one, which was alright because there were only eighteen of them, but a little boring. Eighteen alphabets in one morning. She enjoyed their smiles as they got it right though, and pitied them if they stumbled, marvelling their willingness to try again. Peter and Jean were definitely the best, followed closely by Kitty and Scott. This wasn't surprising to her though, she had thought they would be good at it.

With Logan, the kids were messing around. The ones that had finished were restless and wanted something to do. John, especially, was causing problems. Logan had divided the room into two halves. The ones that had finished and the ones that had yet to go. This meant he could keep Remy and John apart for the longest time possible. Pietro had begged to go to say his as one of the first, but that had only led to the silver-haired boy rushing around and around the finished half. Eventually, Logan realised he needed a game or something.

"Alrigh', if you've gone t' 'Ro, then come over here." He motioned for them to join him and crouched down to their height, treating them like his cubs. Lowering his voice to a whisper, he grinned. "I got a secret mission f'r y' all."

All the children gasped, their eyes widening with delight and smiled at him, wanting to find out what it was. Logan smirked to himself, Ororo had been right about playing them at their own game.

"All yer gotta do is creep around and find the secret treasure I hid. Now," He paused for tension, and watched as they leant forward, "I've hid some clues, pictures like, to show you where to you. The winners get t' keep the treasure though, and there are three lots. Divide yerselves into teams, or d' y' want me t' do it?"

When he got some alarmed looks, Logan realised they would definitely sort themselves into groups.

"Alrigh', off yer go."

Silently, they all crept away, whilst Logan waited to tell the other kids when they got back, so they all could play his 'game'. He had hidden nine prizes, and he was certain that no one would keep two, not if they figured out his wrath would be awful.

Xavier and Hank laboured in the laboratory until lunchtime, when they surfaced for lessons and lunch. Hank beamed at the kids as they bounced across to see them both. A few hung back, but that was to be expected, not all of them could accept their roles here, and understand that no one here would do anything to help. He chuckled to himself; he wouldn't have believed it at their age.

"Stars and garters, what happened to Kurt!" He exclaimed, seeing the blue boy covered in hair clips and bands.

Kurt shrugged, his mouth drawn into a sharp, 'fangtastic' grin. "Keety deed eet!" He informed Hank, as she squealed and hugged her friend. "Eet's gut, nein?"

Due to the fierce look of pride that Katherine wore, Hank nodded eagerly, amused by how quickly their relationship had spun on its axis. First she had hated him and he had been happy to move on without her friendship or companionship. Now they were inseparable, except on odd occasions when they divided into male/female groups – the common divide in all races. Again, Hank grinned, his theory that children were just like adults proven to him at very least.

After a brief appearance, speaking to few of the children, Hank ventured down into the lab again, alone this time. The Professor had an announcement to make.

"Children, gather round, gather round." He smiled as they all came scuttling across, some girls holding hands and some boys _and_ girls holding hands. Charles chuckled mentally, noticing the other adults seeing the same thing.

Jean smirked at Scott, who guessed she knew why the Professor was smiling. He shrugged and stuck his tongue out, grinning at the look of horror on Jean's face as she saw. Rogue had Remy's head on her knee, and was talking animatedly to Pietro, who seemed…jealous of Remy! Oblivious, Rogue continued talking and patting Remy's head occasionally. Lance, Todd and Fred skulked at the back of the group, soon being joined by John, who'd taken a liking to their attitude. Sam and Evan talked to Jamie and Rahne, liking their quieter company. Evan kept checking for his Aunty O, but other than that he was louder than before, happier in his environment.

Logan went looking for Ororo when Chuck sat the kiddies down and grabbed her by the waist as she was putting away some toys. Spinning her round as she gasped, her eyes flickering white instinctively, she sighed when she saw the friendly face.

"Logan, I nearly sent thousands of volts through you." She exclaimed, putting her hands on his forearms, thanking her control over her abilities.

"B't yer didn't Ro, an' that's th' main thing." He growled, causing a shiver to run down her spine. "I got a proposition for yer."

Ororo raised an eyebrow, no blush coming to her cheeks as her emotions were reined. "What is it Logan?"

Logan grinned a feral grin, his eyes winking with mischief. "Abrupt aint we."

"Spill it Wolverine, or you'll always have a rain cloud over your shoulder."

Chuckling, he let her go to hold his hands up in surrender. "Y' got me Ro, but seriously. It's about th' kids, an' us."

Confused, she blinked. What in the world could he be talking about! They were looking after the children, unless there was something wrong… The thought made her pale. It must be the children, one of them must be hurt, or worse.

"Logan..." She breathed, a little dizzy at the thought of any of them hurt.

"Woah, woah, s'not anything happened to 'em, they're fine." He caught her arm and led her to a chair, holding one of her hands which shook a little. "S'about how they see us Ro. An' how we see them."

"I don' know about you, b't they're like cubs, my responsibility. An' I know I was all against this, b't I'm getting' into it. An' they seem t' look up t' us, 'specially t' you Ro. An' I was thinkin'…"

Ororo laughed suddenly, stopping Logan's speech just as he felt he'd gotten to the point. She, however, had known his meaning from the word 'cubs'.

"Yes Logan!" she giggled, putting her hand back into his, squeezing gently. "I feel it too. We shall act, but not today."

Dazed, Logan let her walk away, planting a kiss on his cheek as she left the room. Sat next to a teddy bear, he wondered how the heck she'd known and why she'd let him ramble. Glancing at the stuffed toy, he figured that it probably understood women better than he did at the moment.

Moira sat wondering about her 'children'. She had adopted Rahne as her own from a young age and thought of Jamie as her son. What was going to happen to them in the future though, what with the world as it was… Could Charles' dream really become a reality...?

May and Ben tiptoed out at the mental request for them to leave for a moment, he suggested that Peter would probably want to inform them himself. Making cups of tea in the kitchen, they smiled at one another. Their nephew was growing up fast and he seemed able to cope with anything that was thrown in his path. Certain he would survive in an ever more horrific world, they felt he would at least be safe here, and grow up accepting everything about himself.

Charles smiled at the children, as below their feet Hank began an experiment.

"Children, I have a treat for you."

Hank mixed two chemicals and watched the reaction, furiously thinking what should come next to get the desired effect.

The children's eyes widened and their expressions were expectant and wondering. They sat as far up as they could without actually standing and moving closer. Charles smiled with amusement and pleasure at their enthusiasm.

"It's going to be difficult at first, but then everything new is…"

"…is the quantum mass of… therefore…" Hank mumbled as he picked another bottle, measuring precisely the amount needed.

"I don't want anyone to be jealous of anyone else, alright?"

They nodded eagerly, for the first time working as a group and depending on one another. The trust came naturally, even for those could couldn't or wouldn't normally trust so readily. For the past few days, Charles' plan had been in action. They had been just being children, playing and socialising without fear of ridicule because of one gene, the one that made them doubly unique. Lessons had been learnt, both the alphabet and with each other, but bonds had been made. Ones that Charles had hoped would cause them to understand and trust. Ones that Charles was depending on for this treat. Ones that had occurred and made everything he dreamt of for the future seem more real by the moment.

Hank hadn't a moment to spare. His dreams were on the line to him. This one theory could make all the difference. It could create bonds between them all. Ones that would last. Ones that would help lessons be learnt, and trust built. Ones that Hank was depending on to keep this hope alive.

"I am going to help you use your gifts – to train them so you can do many, many things. Like Ororo, Logan and myself. Like some of your parents." Charles eyes skimmed over Rogue, Wanda, Pietro. He saw Scott and Peter shudder, Scott more so, but they both saddened slightly. "Like your friends around you."

"Help me do this…" Hank murmured and lifted the vial of clear liquid, praying for success. "Like Einstein, Newton and Descartes before me. Like Doctor Martin Luther King Junior when he faced the world. Like, like… like someone!"

Every child now wore the same look of excitement, though Scott still seemed a bit forlorn in comparison; Jean clutched his hand tightly and he smiled a little more. Charles bit his tongue, not knowing whether he would truly be able to help Scott, but hoping so. Anna was also a trouble for his troubled mind. Her power was unique and, from what they had been told, uncontrollable. But he had to try.

Every fibre, every particle, down to sub atomic level, of Hank's being quivered with excitement and dread, shaking his nerves and bringing a new essence of fear to the man. He wondered if this truly would help or hinder, but decided it wouldn't matter if it were wrong. Though he had to try.

Charles smiled and now used his powers to talk, to show them what they could do when they finished their training.

Hank smiled and now poured the liquid down his throat, to prove to himself that there was only one choice in the end.

The children and Hank gasped with synchronicity, though they were oblivious to one another. Charles, however, was not.

_-Hank?-_

When no answer came, but the thoughts of his dear friend were still conscious, Charles grew a little anxious, but did not dare leave the children. Calling to the other adults, he acted normally with the children, telling them about the rota he had worked on, as well as about the room he had created for them to work in without worry.

Logan and Ororo met with the Parkers and Moira as they rushed to the room, ready to join Charles or go to their friend. The basic message had been enough to alert them to Hank's confusing behaviour. Standing at the back of the room, the children were ignorant of their presence.

"Charles…" the familiar voice of Henry 'Hank' P. McCoy sounded from the doorway. Yet what they saw was not familiar unless you first saw the fierce kindness, the soft flames of stubbornness and the dazed confusion that lingered in his eyes. "What have I done…"

Kurt's expression changed from excited to ecstatic. "Du bist wie ich!"

He flung himself at Hank, teleporting by instinct, to land on his shoulders, wrapping the older man in a warm hug (tail included). The now furred form of the great man they all knew and were coming to love, hugged him in return, slightly confused by it all. His brown eyes turned to Ororo, then Logan, then finally Moira – the people he knew best except for Charles.

"Hank, y'… y' look fantahstic." Moira smiled weakly.

Logan made an incomprehensible noise and looked down, unsure what to say.

Ororo stepped toward Hank, and placed a hand against his cheek. "Moira's right, you just look like the soft teddy bear we all knew you were inside."

Managing a chuckle, he looked at her. "Flattery will get you everywhere, my dear."

The children had not shrunk back in fear when they had first seen him, having gotten used to Kurt. Plus they agreed with Ororo – big fluffy soft Hank bear. Like Kurt without the fangs. Surprisingly, it was Kitty who went first to him. Jean blinked, having meant to be the first. Kitty smiled and hugged Hank's leg with gusto, giggling as Kurt's tail and Hank's new fur tickled her.

One by one, they all joined her, children first, even John and Pietro joining in, feeling something for the guy who had juggled and gotten eggs on his head to amuse them. Charles held back, knowing that Hank knew his heart about this matter.

_-Be strong Hank…-_

_-I have no need Charles, they will be strong for me. And that's all the courage I need.-_

* * *

Okay, excuse my Scottish accent – you know how hard it is when you say the word, then try to phonetically write it? Well it's easier to do Remy or Rogue, seriously, lol.

I hope this apology is enough and also you still care :'( I haven't forgotten and I'll try to do the next chapter within the next few weeks – but I have a lot of work to do if I wanna go to University next year (too many essays )

If you liked Vacation or Can Time Heal Everything, I've updated those too, so check it out if you have time.

Much luv t' y'all

Summers Groupie

-X-X-X-


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